How old is too old to conceive for you personally?

I am almost 38 and I have a 3 year old. I would really like to have another child. However, I know I don't even want to consider it until at least another year has passed due to my career. I worry I will be too old and have to deal with all the concerns of medical issues plus, what if I just can't keep up.

Comments (262)

Of course, many women over 35 have happy & healthy pregnancies and conceive without difficulty. My only point was that, given what I know about fertility, if I were over 35 and wanted another I would not put it off.

I "came up" with those particular facts from the medical journals, particularly the many articles relating the most current research shared between myself and the geneticists and perinatologists I associated with.

You just listed the risk of conceiving such a baby, not of delivering one. They are very, very different things.

I "came up" with those particular facts from the medical journals, particularly the many articles relating the most current research shared between myself and the geneticists and perinatologists I associated with.

And I'm asking you to please share some citations so we can benefit from this medical knowledge. Everything I've seen from reliable sources says otherwise.

I no longer have access to the medical journal databases, as I am no longer associated with the University. If you'd like to read the articles on the most current research, talk to your doctor or, since you seem to have the ability to follow any citations I may present, look them up yourself. Google, your neighbor, the BHB, or any book published before the last few years is not a "reliable source"...the only reliable source on this topic is the current journals, or a physician who keeps up to date.

I'm not saying this means anything just an interesting fact from my group of friends.
I have close friends that has their kids in their 20's some in their 30's ( me included) some in their 40's

The only ones that had children with DS are my friends that had kids in their early to mid 20's.
I have 4 friends with kids with DS

Non of our group of friends that had kids in their 20's or 40's have kids with autism. However of my friends that gave birth in their 30's, 9 do.

Weird coincidence isn't it.

Ok back to the discussion.
For us, we didn't even meet until we were almost 30. Had odd just shy if 32. Now that she's 8 and my YDDis 4 & that we've tried for #4 for yrs.... I'd keep having kids for 10 more yes if I could. The thought of not having LOs running around our house kills me. I was to have kids under 10 living here until my oldest kids start giving me grand babies. :)

Well I'm 30 and my dd is turning 3 in a few weeks. She's my only. Which I'm totally ok with but I wouldn't mind having another around 38-40. Just in case I do want another, I don't want to wait until it's too late.